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The Psychology of Link Building
           Mike Essex
How We Got Coverage In:
You’re Not Getting Links Here:
You’re Getting Them Here:




 Charles Arthur      Graeme Wearden          Imogen Fox           Heather Stewart
 Technology Editor    Business Reporter   Deputy Fashion Editor    Economics Editor
People Give You:


 • Free links from high authority sites

 • No “Sponsored” or “Advertorial” tags

 • Contacts you can rely on again and again

 LESSON: Think people not websites
?
HOW CAN I GET PEOPLE’S
ATTENTION?
You are competing with:
“

         Mike Butcher
                                                                                           ”
         TechCrunch


Source: http://www.slideshare.net/mikebutcher/how-to-deal-with-tech-media-by-mikebutcher
Use The Halo Effect       (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977)




We make assumptions
about people instantly
until proven otherwise.

Your email must
STAND OUT
Flat Information   (Howard Leventhal)




                                        An email with no passion
                                        that just lists your content
                                          doesn’t STAND OUT
Specific Instructions        (Howard Leventhal)




 Why Your Content is Great
                                    Why They Should Cover It




 Where They Should Link
                                        Why They Should Link
High Fear Information        (Howard Leventhal)




Information with urgency and fear
really STANDS OUT

FEAR
“What Every SEO Must Fight For”

URGENCY
“Action must be taken right now”
We Made People Scared:
                                     160 Links Including:




LESSON: Fear is a great motivator.
?
Cognitive Dissonance

People contradict
themselves and change
their mind or do things
they wouldn’t have done
normally, if you can
present a reasonable
argument.

LESSON:
Use Your Email
to change their mind!
Obedience   Stanley
            Milgram



             In this study people were asked
             to give electric shocks to others
             (who were in on the experiment).

             The majority of people gave a
             lethal dose.

             There are 2 reasons why:
             1- Someone else asked them to
             do it, so they could shift blame.

             2 – The doses went up very slowly
             in 25 volt increments.
1
     • Interact with people on Twitter


2
     • Leave comments


3
     • Learn about the person


4
     • Then ask for the Link


LESSON: Small actions lead to BIG results
The Door in the Face Phenomenon
The Solution




                                     ?
• Think like your outreach target!
Social Identity Theory   Henri Tajfel and John Turner




 People are more
 likely to behave
positively to others
who are the same.
Become an Expert

The BBC didn’t feature us
when we emailed them as
“Digital Marketing Executives”

They did when we changed
the job title to “Social Media Expert”

LESSON: Change your job title to best represent
your key area of knowledge.
Be or Become a Woman
Which Line is the Same?
It’s C (Unless you’ve been to the free bar)




  Yet in the study most people gave wrong answers. This was because people
  around them (who were in on the experiment) also gave the wrong answer.
1st Wave of Coverage




                                                     (Two high profile blogs)


 After this point no more outreach was carried out, but…

                                                 Thanks to Patrick Hathaway for this example
2nd Wave of Coverage

Many more sites linked as they saw it on the high profile sites




                                                  Plus 15-20 More Sites!
Even Worldwide!




LESSON: One good link can easily be turned in to more
?
Hedge       If you bet on every
            horse in a race you will
Your Bets   always win.
So when link building, ensure you contact
a wide range of people to give yourself
more chances to win.
We Emailed:
And Got A 33% Conversion




     LESSON: Send Similar People Similar Emails
Profile Websites
People!
Profile Websites
Go Get Those Links!
Image Sources
•   Slide 6: http://www.free-extras.com/search/2/football+chalkboard.htm
•   Slide 13: http://www.gamewallpapers.com
•   Slide 17: http://worldofdiscovery.info/
•   Slide 19: http://www.jwwilliamsandsons.co.uk/Door_Fitting.htm
•   Slide 21: http://www.nataliedee.com/
•   Slide 24: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/putting-guest-post-outreach-theories-to-the-test-with-some-
    real-world
•   Slide 31: http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/derren-brown-reveals-how-he-guessed-
    418167
•   Slide 32:
    http://www.1stclassshows.com/testimonials/prize_every_time.jpg&w=370&h=282&ei=VrYzT76BBs
    ai8gPiwLTCAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=180&vpy=155&dur=2106&hovh=196&hovw=257&tx=129&t
    y=99&sig=106407779831255233410&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=148&tbnw=176&start=0&ndsp=24&ve
    d=1t:429,r:0,s:0
•   Slide 37: http://johnbrodie.wordpress.com/
Mike Essex

       @Koozai_Mike


       Mike.Essex@koozai.com

       /Koozai

       /Koozai